2 Freemantle Place, Pakuranga, Auckland
View on mapAkarangi | Quality Evaluations evaluate the extent to which early childhood services have the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most and Early Childhood Education (ECE) Improvement Framework (teacher led services) are the basis for making judgements about the quality of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. Evaluations for improvement | Ngā Aronga Whai Hua is integrated across all of the above domains.
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Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten is very well placed to promote positive learning outcomes for children.
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten is a community-based service that provides education and care for children over the age of two. It serves an ethnically diverse community.
The centre's philosophy is influenced by Christian values. Its aims include supporting children as active, sensory learners and encouraging their exploration, collaboration and problem-solving. The curriculum incorporates a Reggio Emilia approach to teaching and learning that values the relationship between teachers, children, parents/whānau and the community. The kindergarten's Outdoor Explorers programme supports children's knowledge of and appreciation for the environment.
The kindergarten is governed by a management committee that reports to the church board. The kaiwhakahaere (professional leader) is responsible for the daily operation of the centre. She leads a team of three qualified teachers and three support staff.
ERO's 2015 report noted the centre's highly effective curriculum, sound policy framework and responsive and respectful teachers. These features remain and are pivotal to centre procedures and practices.
The centre is a member of the South East Christian Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
Children and their families are welcomed into the centre's inclusive environment. They experience a strong sense of belonging and their cultural backgrounds are valued.
Children are viewed as creative, capable learners with potential. They are supported to be confident learners and critical thinkers. Children are encouraged to investigate, ask questions and think deeply about ideas associated with social justice and fairness. Their inquiries into areas of their choice lead to extended learning and sustained interest.
Teachers are responsive to children's wonderings and curiosities. They engage in respectful and meaningful conversations with children that support further exploration. Teachers are intentional in how they pose questions to children. Their approaches enhance children's ability to extend their ideas and thinking.
The curriculum continues to promote positive outcomes for children. It reflects teachers' sound understanding of, and commitment to, Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum. The curriculum acknowledges the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua, and teachers have a shared responsibility to protect the Māori language and culture. A Reggio Emilia influence is evident in whānau participation in curriculum design and the arrangement of the learning environment.
Teachers provide a variety of ways for parents/whānau to contribute to programme planning. Parent/whānau aspirations are skilfully integrated in children's learning portfolios. Parents regularly discuss with teachers about their child's growth and development.
Teachers' in-depth knowledge and implementation of assessment, planning and evaluation are of a high standard. Children's interests, strengths and abilities are well documented and show how children progress over time.
The kaiwhakahaere leads a team of knowledgeable and experienced teachers. Together they maintain a culture of professionalism and high expectations across the kindergarten's operations. Teachers have a shared understanding of effective internal evaluation. Their evaluations are underpinned by current research, an appreciative inquiry process and early childhood theories. As a result, children's learning experiences are enhanced.
An effective policy framework supports the kindergarten's operations, with documentation and records that are accurately maintained. Strategic goals are clearly linked with self review, teacher appraisal and targeted professional development. This provides a meaningful, guided approach to the kindergarten's ongoing development.
Key next steps include:
increasing opportunities for new migrant parents to contribute to their child's learning at the kindergarten
extending teachers' conceptual knowledge of specific curriculum areas.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
suitable staffing (including qualification levels; police vetting; teacher registration; ratios)
evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
Steve Tanner
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region - Te Tai Raki
21 May 2020
The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.
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Location |
Pakuranga, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
25041 |
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Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
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Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
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Number licensed for |
40 children over 2 years of age |
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Service roll |
49 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 28 Girls 21 |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
1 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers |
80% + |
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Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
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Review team on site |
March 2020 |
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Date of this report |
21 May 2020 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
April 2015 |
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|
Education Review |
May 2012 |
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|
Education Review |
April 2009 |
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ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children
Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children
Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children
Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes will depend on how well the service promotes positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
Very well placed
Well placed
Requires further development
Not well placed
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.
|
Not well placed |
Requires further development |
Well placed |
Very well placed |
ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.
Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten adjacent to the Pakuranga Baptist Church is a community-based kindergarten in East Auckland. It caters for children between two and five years of age. Half of the children enrolled have Chinese or another Asian heritage. Ten percent are Māori. The kindergarten has a Christian-based philosophy with a strong emphasis on family and community. The curriculum is also influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach that emphasises respectful relationships and views children as capable, competent learners.
The kindergarten is governed by a management committee that reports to the Church Board. The committee delegates daily management of the centre to the kaiwhakahaere, who is the professional leader. The kaiwhakahaere and teachers are all qualified and registered. Teachers are representative of the diverse cultures that make up the kindergarten’s community.
Positive aspects identified in ERO’s previous reports have been sustained over time. Respectful relationships, a responsive learning programme, the well-resourced learning environment and effective leadership practices remain features of the centre. Since 2012, teachers have continued to use robust self-review practices to enhance learning outcomes for children.
Creative and thoughtfully presented indoor and outdoor areas prompt children’s exploration and discovery. Flexible routines support their sustained, focused engagement in complex learning situations. As a result children are confident investigators who enthusiastically share their knowledge, ideas and theories about the world with teachers and other children. They show initiative, ask questions and self-direct their learning. Children are innovative thinkers who imaginatively identify solutions and solve problems.
Teachers form welcoming and positive relationships with children and their families. They interact respectfully with children, using conversations to prompt complex, independent thinking. Teachers skilfully integrate literacy, science and mathematical learning in meaningful ways. They listen carefully to children and provide resources to support and extend their learning. Developing team-wide strategies to further engage some of the older children could enhance the high quality programme.
The curriculum is highly effective in promoting positive outcomes for children. It integratesTe Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, with a Reggio Emilia influence. Teachers are committed to developing bicultural practices and promoting success for Māori learners. They are participating in professional development to increase their knowledge of tikanga and use of te reo Māori in the programme.
Teachers value the information that parents share about their child’s home, community and cultural experience. Parents contribute their expertise to further enhance children’s learning opportunities at the kindergarten.
Systems to assess, plan for and evaluate children’s learning are high quality. Children’s strengths, interests and engagement in the programme are clearly shown in attractive learning records. These individual portfolios celebrate the language, culture and identity of children and their families. Teachers skilfully identify the learning that happens in play and the progress children make over time. They work together to respond to and enrich children’s individual and group experiences at the centre.
The kaiwhakahaere is a skilled, experienced professional leader. She is working with teachers to build shared leadership practices. There is a culture of professionalism and high expectations in all aspects of kindergarten operations. Robust self-review systems enable teachers to make positive changes to enhance children’s experiences at the centre.
A sound policy framework supports centre operations. This includes suitable systems to manage the collection, storage and use of personal information. The management committee is developing processes to increase parent representation on the committee and to support new members. ERO’s resource He Pou Tātaki, could be used to deepen committee members’ understanding of their governance role.
To enhance the centre’s high quality practices the kaiwhakahaere and teachers agree they could link strategic goals with self-review, teacher appraisal and professional development to promote a more connected approach to guide centre developments.
Before the review, the staff and management of Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:
During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:
All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
The next ERO review of Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten will be in four years.
Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
13 April 2015
|
Location |
Pakuranga, Auckland |
||
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
25041 |
||
|
Licence type |
Education & Care Service |
||
|
Licensed under |
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 |
||
|
Number licensed for |
40 children, including up to 0 aged under 2 |
||
|
Service roll |
60 |
||
|
Gender composition |
Boys 34 Girls 26 |
||
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Chinese other Asian other |
8 14 16 17 5 |
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Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80% Based on funding rates |
80% |
||
|
Reported ratios of staff to children |
Over 2 |
1:8 |
Better than minimum requirements |
|
Review team on site |
February 2015 |
||
|
Date of this report |
13 April 2015 |
||
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
May 2012 |
|
|
Education Review |
April 2009 |
||
|
Education Review |
May 2006 |
ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:
Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.
ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.
A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.
For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.
The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:
ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.
ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.